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Confirmed: Arsenal blow as senior duo set for lengthy spells on sidelines

13th October, 2016, 1:48 PM

By London correspondent Tony Hughes

Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud will miss a number of matches for Arsenal while they build up their fitness, Arsene Wenger has revealed.

The Gunners boss confirmed at his press conference on Thursday morning that the senior pair will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash against Swansea at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger explained that Ramsey and Giroud will both be given pre-season training programmes to rebuild their fitness and get them back up to speed.

Ramsey, who missed most of pre-season after reaching the semi-final stage with Wales at Euro 2016, has been absent since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season.

Giroud has made only four substitute appearances for Arsenal in 2016-17 after a late return from the Euros and being afflicted by a toe problem.

Asked for an update on Ramsey, Wenger told the official Arsenal website: “I must say I’m disappointed because he has worked very hard. He’s at the last stage of building up his fitness and he’s not far away. Next week will come too early.

“It’s a bit of a vicious circle. He had a little setback, so we rested him. The longer that lasts, the more time you have to dedicate to build up his fitness again because he has been out for four weeks.

“Then you have to basically create a new three-week preparation to get him up to the level he was at before the injury. It’s more the time it takes to rebuild his fitness. We have decided that we’ll give him a complete pre-season, even if he misses one or two more games.

“Giroud will be a little bit the same because he has been out now, he has still not been on the pitches. I think he starts to have a jog again today for the first time so he has been interrupted a lot in his preparation. We have to build his fitness up again.”

The Gunners have won five consecutive games on the bounce, as they welcome Bob Bradley’s Swansea to the Emirates on Saturday, looking to add to their tally of 16 points from seven games.

Wenger’s team then play Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League next Wednesday ahead of a Premier League match against Middlesbrough and then a League Cup last-16 tie with Reading.